Jack Kelly x Reader

Chapter Thirteen

(y/n)'s POV

It was Sunday, 10am, and I was bored as hell. Sure, I could have been doing homework or being productive in some manner.

...But I didn't feel like it so instead I stared at my ceiling.

I got a text from Race, breaking the monotony of the morning, so obviously I rolled my eyes but read it. It was, shockingly, not about the whole scheme going on. I guess the group wanted a disconnect between the planning and the pawn, but I still was a bit surprised.

"what if dogs wore socks" was all he had to say.

"one time when lily was a puppy I put socks on her and she ate them" I responded. It was a story I liked telling when it came up, because frankly I took any opportunity to talk about my dog and how much I loved her. Which was a lot, by the way. She was the greatest, dumbest thing to ever exist.

"that was the best story ive ever read"

"my dogs the best so I'm not surprised"

"yeah we get it you love your dog"

"hell yeah I do!!!" I smiled, seeing her walk in. I immediately dropped my phone and went over to the doggy, petting her soft fur. Her face lit up with a big floppy smile, and a bright light shining in her dark eyes. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her soft forehead.

She smiled wider, leaning into me to force me to hug her like the adorable rascal she was. She was a golden retriever, automatically making her the cutest dog. I really, really loved my dog.

Race was clearly texting back, since my phone was blowing up with messages. I gave Lily another kiss on her furry little forehead before I got up to check it.

To my surprise, it was not only Race that had texted. Jack and Kath had also jumped into my inbox.

Racetrack Idiot
language, ma'am

I  typed out a response of "yeah well, as if you can talk you dry clean only t-shirt (/thot because you definitely are one)" because Racer and I had that petty type of friendship.

While I waited for him to respond I opened my texts with Katherine, and she'd sent me two texts a minute ago.

"Hey bestie, what's up?"

"By the way, have you talked to Jack today?"

I shrugged and decided to answer with a simple "nothing much, you? also no I haven't talked to him yet" and sent it, switching over to Jack.

"hey, we haven't talked in a while." It read. It was true, we hadn't talked since yesterday morning on Davey's couch.

Ew, wait, rephrase. We hadn't talked since sleeping togeth- wait that sounds gross too.

We hadn't talked since yesterday. I was leaving it at that.

"yeah, we haven't. how are you??"

"I'm okay as I'm gonna get. definitely not ready for that history test coming up soon tho."

"me neither. I'm normally good at it but guess I'll die :/"

"don't do that!"

"aw darn, there goes my plan for this evening"

I chuckled out loud a bit at our conversation. I loved just being able to be goofy with him. It was way more fun than awkwardly trying (and failing) to flirt or something. He was such a sweet guy, and I never really let myself forget it. Right now, I surely wouldn't have minded being with him though. Just us, laughing about stupid jokes and being carefree friends without other people's expectations.

Jack's POV

I was smiling stupidly down at my phone when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Miss Medda, dressed in a robe over some new elaborate costume and decked out with her stage makeup.

"Hey, kid. What's makin' you smile like that?" She asked gently with a smile. I rolled my eyes jokingly.

"Ain't ya on ya way out, Miss Medda?" I teased. I didn't really wanna admit my crush to her, so I assumed that was the best option to go with.

"I still have plenty of time, Jack. Now, back to the question. Are you talking to a girl?" Damn it.

"Well yeah, but she and I ain't datin' or anything," I explained calmly, fighting the redness that heated my face up a bit.

"But do you want to be dating her?" She asked, giving me the look that said I wasn't gonna lie and get out of this one scot free.

"Well yeah, but I know she don't like me like that," I told her truthfully. (y/n) wasn't interested, she was just helping Race win a bet because she was a really nice person who was looking out for her friend. I couldn't blame her, but that was the reality of the situation no matter what I thought or wanted.

"How do you know?" She asked, this time sitting down next to me with a hand resting on my knee.

"Because, our friends are trying to get me to like her for some dumb bet. She may flirt and all, but she's just playing along. She don't like me,"

"Now that needs some background. Explain," Miss Medda commanded. I nodded.

"Davey told me that Racer, Crutchie, Katherine and (y/n) are trying to make me fall in love with her, because Racer made this bet that said I'd end up with (y/n), while Albert said I'd end up with Kath. Then they gathered Kath and Crutchie to help them scheme and get her to act out their ideas,"

"Why'd (y/n) agree to it?" She asked. She knew (y/n), she came over plenty with Kath and the guys to hang out, and she was one of Medda's favorites.

"She's a good friend, Medda. She's just helpin' Race make $50 because he asked. She's a doll like that, you would know," I told her. (y/n) was indeed like that. She was something else altogether. She was amazing, and I really did like her more than I could fathom.

"And how did Davey know about all this?" She asked, glancing over to her prepared bags.

"Apparently he cornered (y/n) and got her to confess to it all, after I told 'im I liked her." I explained.

"Do you ever think that she agreed, and she confessed, because she could like you back?" Medda decided to ask carefully, making me roll my eyes.

"That ain't how it is, Medda. She's too far outta my league to even think of me that way for a second," I rambled as I hung my head. I felt bad for liking her, I felt bad for telling anybody, and I felt awful that I avoided her yesterday because of what Dave said. I knew that (y/n) hated reaching out to people, she felt too needy and like a bother. I should have ignored him and talked to her.

"But maybe it is, Jack. Maybe do that trick I always used to do. When you look into her eyes, look how big her pupils are. If they're really wide, it means she loves you. Now I ought to get to the theater, so I'll see you later," she said, getting up. She grabbed her show-day bag, a big case of makeup, and a wig stand with a long, curly blonde wig on it, and bustled out the front door, leaving me alone.

Yeah, maybe I'd do that. Maybe (y/n) could like me back. The idea was exhilarating.

Maybe she did like me back.

Maybe.

(1266 words)